What a funny town! Given it's either the gateway or the end point of the Nullarbor crossing (depending which way you're travelling) it has loads of potential as a tourist destination. Instead, it presented as a tired and sad town, devoid of character or charm. The shops were either empty, boarded up or really scungy. With the first real supermarket after quarantine (if heading west), everyone's keen to restock but it was truly aweful and many, like us, simply moved on and waited until the next big towns of Esperance or Kalgoorlie to buy all but the bare necessities.
We stayed at the town's footy oval (free camping), which was surprisingly quiet and safe despite us being there on a Saturday night. The kids enjoyed the local swimming pool for an afternoon cool-off - lucky given there was nothing else to do! The lawn bowls club beside the footy oval looked like it no longer provided the towns older folk with an exercise option, instead it was filled with enormous veggie patches overflowing with an amazing array of fresh, seasonal produce. It's a pity it couldn't be expanded to supply the local IGA - it would be a vast improvement on their derelict fruit/veg section.
The two main photo opportunities, which we didn't take, were the camel sculptures at the main roundabout and a bronze horse statue near the swimming pool. Legend has it that the horse uncovered the regions largest gold nugget. Apparently it was bored while waiting for its owner to finish his beer (or some other blokey activity) and began digging. It began what was to be a rather lucrative gold industry in the town and surrounding district. Gold is still mined there today.
The incredible veggie gardens at the seemingly abandoned lawn bowls club